The Final Quarter Mile
by Amanda Halliwell
Summary: Maya's reached the end of her tether, and is slowly drinking herself into oblivion. That's the moment they find her and make her an offer that she can't resist. A killer contract that will finish the job Voldermort started.
1. Chapter 1

_The Final Quarter Mile _

Chasing a Snitch was like chasing the love of your life; catching it was well worth the one hundred and fifty points it scored. Maya had spent a lifetime chasing snitches up and down the Qudditch Pitch. Now she stared down the barrel of a firewhiskey, brooding about what could have been. Maya hadn't been on a broomstick in years. Not since that fateful morning when she'd faced _him_ for the last time. Faced him, and fled, running as fast as her legs would carry her.

"You're not serious," the hag wrinkled her nose in disgust. The firewhiskey sizzled in her goblet, making the kind of whirring noise that suggested she might not want to drink it. "Maya, _again_?"

"Maya, again?" Maya mimicked in a high pitched voice, before downing the dreadful alcoholic substance.

"Well, you ain't having no more," the hag said, waving away the bartender. "You're coming with me."

"I am not going _with_ you," Maya slurred, stumbling as her feet tried to find the floor. Bile rose in her throat as the hag practically carried her towards the door, step by step, inch by inch, until Maya finally lost consciousness and forgot everything else.

_Birds_, Maya thought groggily. _Where the hell am I_? She rolled over on the scratchy mattress that certainly did _not_ feel like home. Wherever she was, it made her disorientation seem justified. The bedroom door creaked open, the noise sounding like gunshots to her addled mind. Maya jumped, skidded back towards the bed, and re-considered exiting the room.

"Bridget?" Maya asked, narrowing her eyes. Her vision cleared enough to tell her it was the hag from last night; her best friend since Hogwarts. Her _only_ friend since she bowed out of the Qudditch World Cup.

"You awake," Bridget said, stating the obvious. "Good. We talk. Living room. Men here to see you, important Ministry men."

Maya nodded, trying to make sense of Bridget's mangled sentences. She didn't speak unless she needed to, and most of the time it was only two words; maybe three, if she was feeling generous. A whole explanation felt like something of a miracle. One Maya couldn't fully appreciate.

"I'll be there," Maya said, and begun the search for some clean robes.

"Blue robes on bed," Bridget said, pointing. "Cloak in closet. Get dressed. Brush hair. Meet in living room."

Maia arrived in the living room suitably dressed; the Ministry men were both present, and both looked extremely grim. What had she done now? It certainly couldn't be anything that bad, could it? If it were, surely she'd sense it? How could she be sure these men even were from the Ministry, dressed as they were? All these questions needed answers, fast. Maya needed to know if she should run.

"Miss Andrews," the Ministry Representative said in a deep voice. "We are glad to finally get the chance to meet you face to face."

Maya perked up. That didn't sound like the beginning of an arrest, that was for sure. Perhaps it would be something of great value, like a job. Maya could sense a job offer like most witches could find a shoe store; it was like second nature. A smile spread across her face. She did need the money.

"We hear you've been known for some fine ass—work," the second man said, with a grin all too real. Maya knew what he'd almost let slip. The word was '_assassinations_' and tasted bittersweet in her mouth. "We want to know if you are interested in continuing such work. We have a contract for you."

"No contract," Maya said sharply, her mind clearing enough to understand that a contract – a legally binding contract – could get her into more trouble than it was worth. "I'll do it for the money. Give me half up front, and pay the rest after the job is done."

The men glanced at each other, and Bridget tapped her urgently on the shoulder. Maya guessed she wanted to tell her something, but Maya wasn't having it. She did not have time to wrestle with her non-existent conscience, especially today. The Ministry man pushed a generous handful of galleons towards her. Maya's mouth dropped open. This was more than enough – it would pay her rent for a year, maybe even fund the mortgage for a house.

"Who do you want eliminated?" Maya asked, her eyes shining as she accepted the coins.

"Harry Potter," the Ministry men said in one voice.


	2. A Binding Contract

_The Final Quarter Mile _

_The Final Quarter Mile _

Maya's stomach dropped out of her chest. The Ministry men had just asked her to do the impossible. Kill _Harry Potter_? As if she could. Maya chewed her lip thoughtfully. Killing the 'Chosen One' might be to her benefit. The media coverage she would get – all eyes would be on her – what kind of dark magic would she need to accomplish such an arduous task? Her eyes shone at the very thought. Harry Potter would die.

"I'll do it," Maya declared, eyeing the gold hungrily. The Ministry men looked at each other eagerly. Maya didn't see the look that passed between them; all she knew was that she now had enough gold to survive. Enough gold to fill her Gringotts account to overflowing.

"We thought we could count on you," the first Ministry man said, grinning from ear to ear. "You come highly recommended; do _not_ disappoint us."

Maya looked at him as though he were from another planet. He clearly didn't understand. This job meant the more to her than he could imagine – Harry Potter would be the greatest Snitch she could catch. If she killed him, the world would tremble at her feet. She wasn't sure they understood the magnitude of what they were asking. Her name would be spoken in reverence, just as Voldermort's had once been.

"Why?" Maya asked suddenly, a thought occurring to her. "You're from the Ministry. Why would you want the _famous_ Harry Potter dead?"

"Because Harry Potter has made himself quite a few enemies of late," the Ministry man said evasively. "It's not like one can't accrue those when they shoot to such power; he is the Head of the Auror's Office, after all."

Maya nodded, completely understanding. She'd made a few enemies of late, too. All the families she had destroyed in the progress of becoming who she was now. Maya could never go back to the naive Qudditch player she had once been. She would never grace the stadiums again, never hear the roar of the crowds, and always hear the cry of her next victims replaying over and over again in her mind. Maya eyed her wand with reproach. It had taken so many lives. She wondered what would happen when it met Harry Potter – just how much his mother's love still protected him. If it did protect him still, as she thought it might, it would help explain a lot. Like why he'd filled the protective walls of Azkaban to overflow. The Ministry were even beginning to talk about opening a new wizarding prison in Britain.

"Who do you know that resides in Azkaban?" Maya asked, surprising the Ministry men.

They looked at each other once again, considering their answer. It was almost as if they were conversing in their minds, speaking in words she could not hear. Maya watched them, saw their body language, the way they tensed up, the sparkle fading from their eyes.

"That brings us to the second part of our contract," the Ministry men told her firmly, looking as though he'd rather not mention it. But they had agreed, Maya could tell. They wouldn't be paying her so much money, otherwise.

"You thought that killing Harry Potter was a big deal," the second Ministry man said smugly. "Then you will have no trouble breaching the barrier of Azkaban and setting the prisoners free."

Maya had always known the contract was too good to be true; how could she breach the walls of Azkaban, when it was defended by more than just walls? Potter had erected a protective spell around it with the help of his friend Granger, making it impossible to apparate in and out of the prison. Not only that, but Maya knew there would be no way past the Azkaban guards. Not Dementors, because Potter hated them and was too cowardly to use them; no, he used more dangerous creatures, and if Maya had it right, she'd have to know the answer to more than just one riddle.

"Are you insane?" Maya breathed, shock registering on her face. "You're asking me to do two impossible things. Kill Harry Potter _and_ break the prisoners – evil dark wizards – out of Azkaban. You're asking for a death sentence."

"No we're not," the Ministry man said gleefully. "You're magically bonded to do everything the contract says. By accepting those _particular_ galleons, you have tied yourself to the task. Refuse to do it, and you will die. Much like an Unbreakable Vowel."

Maya couldn't believe her ears. She looked at the gold in disgust, wishing that she could get rid of it. It would be the first thing she did; spending it at her leisure, drowning herself so she could forget what she'd agreed to. Why she had allowed herself to fall into this trap, she didn't know. But it could be worse. Things could always be worse. Maya could be out to sea with no plan, no nothing. What she had was a smidgen of an idea of how she could carry out what they'd asked; and it already _had_ involved breaking the prisoners out of Azkaban. Pity that the Ministry men hadn't known she'd be two steps ahead. She needed one thing in order to complete the other. Success would come, and it would be worth every penny they paid her.


End file.
